Ready for the Lake Orion Lighted Christmas Parade the first week of December. Yep the grandkids along with assorted adults and friends including the Mom are carrying on the family tradition of clowning for the parade.

I started with the cape.

Using red trigger, the lining is white trigger, and the trim is white sherpa left over from a Poodle skirt project. Trigger is used as I said before for durability and color fastness. All seams are double seamed. There is a pocket inside to hold the battery pack for the mini lights (only around 8 or 10) that are pinned to the outside of the cape.

Next dress was completed with a zipper in the back (God I hate putting in zippers but I’m getting better.) I shorten the skirt to assure no tripping and to keep the hem cleaner in case of snow on the street.

So there you have it.  Not the work of a polished seamstress but not too shabby either.

Cindyism’s is out of order again so I thought I would mention it so you wouldn’t think she had abandoned you!.

I finished the cape for Jazz’s Christmas Parade costume today. Now it is on to the dress. I would like it ready for a try on by Thanksgiving because we will be at Wes and Deb’s for dinner. The parade should be roughly a week or two away then.

A trip to the dentist for the six month cleaning was not good news. The crown on the left side of my mouth which my partial clips to is loose. This has been a questionable fix right along. So tomorrow morning it is back to the office to see if Dr. Ford can cement it back for another few months.

Jay and I planted ten Redbud Trees (little one) today.  They arrived day before yesterday in the mail.  Yesterday it rained all day so we had to get them in today. It started to rain when we were halfway through. Then this is what greeted us this evening.

Yep that is snow and I still have 10 lilac bushes to arrive yet.

Monday Jay went to the Optometrist for a new set of glasses.  The Doctor said he may be able to see well enough to drive soon.

Well it’s after 11pm and I have started to yawn so I’ll say good night, sleep tight, and don’t let the bedbugs bite!!

Do you remember your Mom saying behave yourself no matter where you are because you are going to meet someone you know? Well a trip to the grocery store in Davison on Tuesday proved that point to me again. 

When we moved to Orion Township in 1984 Neumaier’s grocery store on the corner of Gregory and Baldwin was moving to a larger building down the road. They became our choice for grocery shopping. We knew the owner, his son Paul, all the check out people. and stock people. We left the area in 1999 and roughly a year or so later Neumaier’s went out of business. 

On Tuesday standing in the produce department selecting red grapes a young man said, “Hello remember me?”  He looked familiar but from where.  “I’m Paul Jr.—Neumaier. Of course and the old give a hug came over me and I hugged him. He told me he was working for a produce company now and his Dad was a partner in a Health Club. We told him we had been in Otisville for the last six years and shopped in Davison. 

So you see Mom was right! 

As is our custom because we live in the woods of Otisville we plan our trips into Oakland county almost a throughly as Lewis and Clark and Saturday was no exception.

Starting with breakfast in Davison ( the usual eggs over medium, hash browns, bacon, and wheat toast) at around 7:45 in the morning.  Then on to the haircut appointments for both of us at 9:00 and 9:30 am in Clarkston.  Our family has been going to Shawn for roughly 34 years and old habits, especially good ones, are hard to break.

From there it was on to Waterford to deliver a gift to the wonderful lady who I met working at Michigan Bell many years ago.  She was taking care of Les and Cindy on the the day 33 years ago that Wes and I went to make arrangements for my first husband’s funeral.  Then 31 years ago she stood up at my wedding to Jay.  So it was important to me to take this gift to Pam.

Even though our lives have taken different paths she has remained someone I can count on.  Diane’s bookmark went into Pam’s Bible along with her other keepsakes.

We left there around 1:00 pm and on to Orion to visit my clowning partner in my old neighborhood.  We met Shane about 19 years ago when she and hubby Ed had a house built in our subdivision and moved in.  Shane started attending a few clowning meetings with me and we worked a partners at picnics, parades, and party when she was available.  I was Merribell and she was Q.T.  After we moved we have kept in touch but we don’t get together as often as we would like to.  It was important to me that I give her one of Diane’s bookmark to remember our friendship with.

Shane chose the bookmark that so suited her personality and her alter ego Q.T. 

Our visit lasted about a couple of hours then it was time to move on as I’m not really comfortable driving after dark and we still had Wes and Deb’s to visit.  So we said reluctant good byes promising to visit again soon. 

It was 12 hours away from home but a better 12 hours I have not spent in a long time!

Last Wednesday Sweet Thing made the 45 mile trip up to our house just to play cards with this old mother! ( that sounds almost derogatory don’t it)  The score   (555 to 500) of our first game resulted in win for the ‘Rummy Shark’.  The second game she called she said on account of the lateness of the evening but I know she was afraid I’d lose again.  The score on that one was Momma 265 and the Shark 200!  But it is not the card playing that is important—it is the exchange of love and conversation.

Thursday this was my dinning room table.

The start of Dakotas costume for the parade.  I used blue tigger linen from the pants.  I found years ago that trigger holds color longer and is more durable.  The only disadvantage is it comes only in solid colors so if you introduce a print or a stripe into a costume it fades before the trigger does.  The vest was made out of left over fleece from a jacket I made him two years ago for the parade.  The print is Santa, snow, and greetings for the season.  As I said earlier when they keep growing I keep sewing.  But I love the projects.  I don’t have to be a seamstress to create a costume.

On Satureday (visits day that I will talk more about later) we wound up at Was and Deb’s house so Dakota could try on the costume. 

The only thing needed is for Deb to tack the elastic in the waist band of the pants and we are in business.  As you can see Dakota had to keep the vest on. 
The jacket from the other parade he loved so much that he wore it to school for the Christmas season until he out grew it.

That is one down and one to go.  Everyone else in the parade will wear the costumes I have made over the last few years.

The last of the bookmarks from my dear friend came last week.  I just have to get them given out now.

Today I started the Christmas Costumes for Dakota and Jazz for the Lake Orion Lighted Parade. These guys keep growing which means I keep sewing. Unlike the Halloween costume that I started and Wes finished I hope to have pictures of these.  I haven’t been able to get pictures of the original.

Jay and I bought the components for building the lawn decorations and they are in the basement waiting for attention. 

I want to crochet some pieces of the Nativity for friends if I get time. 

I bought the Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman the other day but haven’t been able to pick it up yet.

I’m going to have to buy a new tree this year for the Christmas because I threw out the old ratty one last year. 

My Molly and Echo are almost well again.  So that is one good thing. 

So like my friend Diane I guess I should get up from this machine and get my butt in gear so I can accomplish some of these thing!

So for tonight—Good Night!

I spoke of the new faucet in the bathroom sink.  The two 80 mile trips that eldest son Wes made first to finish getting the stubborn one out and second to finish installing the new one.  Many thanks son.

If you have ever replaced a faucet you know you have to start by clearing out the cabinet under the sink. So it was everything into a cardboard box and a plastic storage bin. In filling these containers I noticed some labels were from Arbor Drugs. That was well over eight or nine years ago when CVS bought them out. I had tubes of lipstick and nail polish from that far back. There was medications in the bath room closet that Jay no longer took. Unopened tooth brushes, flossing material, toothpaste and miscellaneous supplies. 

So the decision was made to sort, to toss, or to keep. I finished the job about an hour ago. Two large garbage bags full of old lotions, balms, cough remedies and etc. into the trash. Now the unopened products are on the top shelf of the closet. The first aid supplies in a basket in the cabinet under the sink. Two shelves in the closet one reserved for each of us for our personal needs.

I feel better about the cabinet and the closet now but I must admit I hate the work needed to accomplish the satisfaction.

Have you ever wanted to confront some one because you felt they were treating others around them unfairly?  That they used restrictions one time to punish someone and then a rescission occurred soon after.  I’ll say no more.

I have just sat here for an hour or so to explain the last six days of stress.  Then I lost it.  So short story—
1. We have a new water conditioner (mucho dinero).
2. Saturday we will have a new faucet unit in our bath room sink.
3. Our mileage three trips totaling 96 miles.
4. Wes’ mileage two trips totaling 160 miles.
5. The stress of getting old is a pain in the ass for all involved!

A moment please to let a proud Grandma gloat!
This is Courtney with her friend Chris on Homecoming Dance Night.
How can something so lovely come from us?